ONLY A MONTH...

This semester has been particularly busy, and so the past month (or five weeks now) flew by so quickly, it doesn't seem possible. I've still been trying to take pictures documenting our journey through parenthood, and have posted several of those efforts on Facebook. It seems that the "formal photo shoots" still manage to escape me, despite my best efforts. Fortunately, some of the more casual picture-taking sessions have yielded decent results.

Wendy and I have found that the transition to full-time parenthood challenging at times, especially since more than 20 years of marriage can allow "ruts" to develop ("patterns of behavior" might have a less negative connotation!). No doubt we've been in some ruts, and Mathias has been the equipment needed to till the ground! And, just when things seem to be going very well, another "first" will often take us by surprise. This past weekend, on Friday night, something made him uncomfortable at about 12:30 in the morning. He had been sleeping for about an hour, and we had just gotten settled as well, since it was Friday night. One of the most frustrating things as a parent is not being able to calm a distressed child! To make a long story short, we ended up having to hold him all night (we switched off through the night) so that he could get some rest. We suspect there was a gas bubble, or some stomach distress, so that lying down was uncomfortable, but when held vertically, there was apparently some relief. Ultimately, Wendy and I got no sleep that night. After a relatively normal morning on Saturday, he did nap quite a bit through the day, so we caught up as well, for the most part. Both Saturday night and Sunday night were uneventful once again, for which we're thankful!

In general, I think we're doing quite well, for old folks! In early December, we had my sister Rachel babysit him while we joined some colleagues for a Christmas dinner at the Lobster House in Norwood. Then, in early March, our pastor's wife took care of him for the day so we could go to Burlington for Wendy to see a rheumatologist for an arthritis evaluation. Otherwise, he's been with us, and we wouldn't want it any other way!

Mathias actually travels well, which is important, since we've been on the road quite a bit; a significant amount of that travel has been for Burlington appointments related to his orthopedic treatments, but he's also been to New York City, Albany, and Pennsylvania. In the car, he generally sleeps or entertains himself with the toys attached to his car seat, as long as we keep him properly fed and changed. Wendy and I will both be glad when he can face front, since he seems very distant when viewed through two mirrors!

What a blessing this little boy has been in our lives, and how blessed I am to have a caring wife who set aside her work plans for this year so she could be a stay-at-home mommy during this critically important time in his life. We're no longer just a couple, able to expect to do couple things, but we're a family now, and that has made all the difference...